'No.1 Suitable Party Leader' Poll Shared by Yoo Seung-min... Will He Become the Focal Point of 'Bi-yun'?

President Yoon and Ruling Party Critic Yoo Seung-min Emerges as Leading Party Leader Candidate
"Is He Ready to Support Yoon's Governance?" Opposition Also Strong

Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min is giving a special lecture on the theme "To Change Incompetent Politics" at Kyungpook National University in Buk-gu, Daegu, on the morning of the 29th of last month. [Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Kang Juhee] Former lawmaker Yoo Seung-min has expressed his intention to challenge the People Power Party's leadership election. Although he has not officially declared his candidacy yet, the atmosphere has become a foregone conclusion as he shared a poll showing himself ranked first in the 'next party leader suitability.' Attention is focused on whether Yoo, who has been sharply criticizing President Yoon Seok-yeol day after day, can become a new focal point within the ruling party as a non-Yoon faction representative.

Former lawmaker Yoo has sought to differentiate himself from other leadership candidates by strongly criticizing President Yoon's recent 'New York remarks' controversy and the presidential office's response. He urged President Yoon to apologize, saying, "What is worse than harsh words is lies," and also pointed out to the party supporting President Yoon, "They must deeply reflect on what should be done first to restore the people's trust." Regarding the additional disciplinary action by the party's Ethics Committee against former leader Lee Jun-seok, he also protested, "Why is the Yoon Seok-yeol party member who made harsh remarks not disciplined?" In a situation where various controversies have caused President Yoon and the ruling party's approval ratings to struggle, he emphasized the need for reflection and change.

On the 9th, Yoo officially began his candidacy movement by sharing an article on Facebook stating that he ranked first in the next party leader suitability poll. The result was from a public opinion survey conducted by Next Week Research (commissioned by KBC Gwangju Broadcasting-UPI News) on 1,000 adults from the 4th to 5th, where Yoo received 29.7%, securing first place. The gap with the second-place former lawmaker Na Kyung-won (12.2%) was 17.5 percentage points. On the same day, Yoo also shared a column titled "When You Hate Seeing All This Mess, Yoo Seung-min" from Hankyoreh21. The column criticized the presidential office and the ruling party's actions and encouraged Yoo to challenge the party leadership.

Some analyze that Yoo's rise reflects a demand for an alternative figure as negative perceptions of President Yoon's declining approval ratings and the pro-Yoon faction (Yoon's core associates) dominating the ruling party spread. In fact, during the People Power Party floor leader election last September, pro-Yoon-backed floor leader Joo Ho-young was elected with 61 votes out of 106, but his competitor, lawmaker Lee Yong-ho, performed well with 42 votes. The party interpreted Lee's strong showing as a warning message to the pro-Yoon faction.

On the other hand, there are also opinions that it is not easy for the non-Yoon faction to take the party leadership. Since the People Power Party has struggled to establish a leadership system for a long time due to the so-called 'Lee Jun-seok incident,' it is analyzed that the party would prefer a leader who maintains a friendly relationship and cooperates with President Yoon rather than confront him. Chungnam Governor Kim Tae-heum appeared on MBN Newswide and said, "(When the party) had conflicts with former leader Lee Jun-seok, Yoo Seung-min's support for Lee was not appropriate as a leader," adding, "The ruling party is a partner and supporter for the success of the Yoon Seok-yeol government’s state affairs management. Whether he is prepared to support state affairs management while enduring politically unfavorable aspects is a point where Yoo Seung-min cannot receive high marks."

Meanwhile, competitors have also begun to actively check Yoo's rise as a leading candidate. Former lawmaker Na Kyung-won criticized Yoo sharing the poll where he ranked first in party leader suitability, saying, "In the same poll, I have been number one among People Power Party supporters for seven consecutive weeks," and pointed out, "There are many pitfalls in polls." Lawmaker Ahn Cheol-soo said, "I hope both Yoo Seung-min and Na Kyung-won run," but emphasized, "What is more important than who becomes party leader is winning the general election and the success of the Yoon Seok-yeol government. I am ready to devote everything for this."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.